Henshaw Trust

St Hugh's CE Primary School is part of the Henshaw Trust. The aim of the Trust is the promotion of Gods Kingdom through the provision of Primary and Secondary Schools where the faith and worship of the Church of England can be taught and practised and the children brought to Confirmation and worshipping membership of the Church. The school works together with the Trust to achieve our common aim.

Our aim at St Hugh’s is to make sure that every child has as much access and experience of high quality Religious Education provision. This is enhanced by having external religious visitors, visit to places of different religions and high quality artefacts which will enrich every child’s experience of Religious Education throughout school.

The school applied to the Henshaw Trust successfully with the aim of providing the following learning opportunities for the children:

1. Barnabas Day ‘Who is my neighbour?’

Through workshops, children will explore issues involved in caring for others, the nature of compassion and the building blocks that form creative communities.

2. Archbishop of York Young Leaders Award

The Young Leaders Award is a unique active citizenship programme which empowers young people to make a difference in their local community. Designed to form part of the school curriculum, the Young Leaders Award offers an exciting opportunity for young people to engage in new learning experiences, discover the benefits of volunteering, and grow in leadership, character, and key life skills.

Pupils will be inspired to take action, start serving others and make a difference in their communities. We will to run the programme initially with our Year 4 class, but we would like to extend it out further across KS2 over time.

3. Wall Mounted Crosses for each Classroom

Whilst each classroom has a dedicated display area for Religious Education, as a Christian school we feel it is important that children should have a focal point for acts of worship. We are fortunate to have the Church based within our school building which enables us to use the altar and surrounding area during our whole school assemblies, providing an ideal focal point. With funding we will be providing a wall mounted cross in each classroom, designed by children from the school.

Please visit the news and events section of the website to see each cross and the designs.

4. Resources to support new Diocesan RE Scheme

We will renew some of our ‘artefacts’ to enable exciting teaching of other religions, as they have been well used and are beginning to tire.

We would like to purchase a toolkit of resources to use in the teaching to stimulate children through hands on experience. The toolkit would include items to enable us to teach the new Diocesan scheme and in interactive way.

The Oldham Muslim Centre works actively to promote tolerance and understanding and along with all the local mosques, is a member of the Oldham Mosque Council. This binds together Muslims from different backgrounds and strands of Islam. The Oldham Muslim Centre have excellent interfaith relations and frequently work with local schools. Several times each year they open the doors of the mosque and centre, inviting people to visit and view an exhibition about Islam and Muslims. Imams and community workers encourage constructive engagement in society and a rejection of extremism in all its forms.

As the majority of the population of our school are White British, the children tend not to come across or experience other faiths, other than through RE. We have taken children on visits to the Mosque in previous years, and the ‘hands on’ experience has proved to be rewarding and has enhanced their understanding.

6. Visit to the Manchester Jewish Museum

Manchester Jewish Museum can offer pupils a unique day of exploration and discovery in one of Manchester’s most beautiful religious buildings. Using objects and images from the museum’s collection the children will explore the origins of the Jewish community in Manchester. Pupils will discover Jewish Faith through engaging, interactive and sensory activities created to encourage exploration and discovery.

Again, as the majority of the population of our school are White British, the children tend not to come across or experience other faiths, other than through RE at school. Taking groups of children on visits provides an excellent stimulus to kick start an area of new learning.